- Kaidō
:"Not to be confused with "
kai-to " (Chinese: "街渡"), which is a type of boat".nihongo|"Kaidō"|街道|road were ancient roads in
Japan dating from theEdo period . Major examples include theEdo Five Routes , all of which started atEdo (modern-dayTokyo ). Minor examples include sub-routes such as theHokuriku Kaidō and theNagasaki Kaidō ."Kaidō", however, do "not" include
San'yōdō ,San'indō ,Nankaidō andSaikaidō , which were part of the even more ancient system of Yamato government calledGokishichidō . These names were used for administrative units, and the roads within these units.Many
highway s andrailway lines in modern Japan follow the ancient routes and carry the same names. The early roads radiated from the capital at Nara or Kyoto. Later, Edo was the reference, and even today Japan reckons directions and measures distances along itshighway s fromNihonbashi inChūō, Tokyo .
=The Gokaidō=The five main "kaidō" from Nihonbashi in Edo were:
*Tōkaidō (東海道) to
Kyoto along the coastline
*Nakasendō (中山道) toKyoto through the mountains
*Kōshū Kaidō (甲州街道) to Kōfu
*Ōshū Kaidō (奥州街道) to Shirakawa and other places of northern Japan
*Nikkō Kaidō (日光街道) to NikkōLodgings
At various times, the government established post stations ("
shukuba ") along the roads. These had lodgings for travelers and grew as commercial centers. These former post towns, along with castle and harbor towns, form a major category of cities in Japan.Cultural References to "Kaidō"
"Kaidō" figure prominently in
Japanese culture . The poetMatsuo Bashō memorialized his travels along the Ōshū Kaidō (and elsewhere) in the book "Oku no Hosomichi ". A set of woodblock prints byHiroshige forms a travelogue of the Tōkaidō.Daimyō , making the required "sankin kotai " trip between their "han" and Edo, also traveled along the "kaidō" and stayed at post stations. Some woodblock prints show their stately processions. TheBunraku play "Kanadehon Chushingura", the fictionalized account of the true story of theForty-seven Ronin , has several scenes set along various "kaidō".ee also
*
Sankin kotai
*Gokishichidō
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